My Journey to Wellness

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The Myth of Memes

If you follow me on Facebook (which is 97% of you based on origination stats), you know I post a lot of memes. I admit, Pinterest and I have a love affair in the evenings because I like to have my time of mindless activity, if just for a little bit, and I have amassed quite the collection of thought-provoking, hilarious, and pun-ny memes and quotes on my phone and kindle…including a few from friends with twisted senses of humor that likely will never see the light of day. On a side note, I really hate the word “meme.”

Often, I see great and amazing ones that make me think, like this:

I like things that make me think. The example with this one, first, since it does speak to faith, does it align with biblical principle? Yep. Second, did CS Lewis actually say/write this? Yep. (Actually the full quote reads: In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble–because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out.)–put THAT on a meme! Third, what book is it from? Mere Christianity. Fourth, loving this so far…have I read the book? Yep. (otherwise I usually add it the reading list)

Then we get to memes like this…

Interesting fact. Is it true? Not sure, haven’t accessed the fount of all knowledge–Google–to find out. I’ve also seen it to say 3lbs of pressure and 5lbs of pressure, so obviously there’s some wiggle room in accuracy here. Is the idea of it good? Sure, I like the positive idea behind it…I can relate it to my life; the idea that I’ve relieved anywhere from 345-575lbs of pressure from my knees is a nice thought. No wonder I can run! Will I ever take it as gospel truth? Probably not.

Finding what is truth and what is not is sometimes not as easy as scrolling through your newsfeed. I really wish it was some days. I look at a lot of my responsibilities some days as an archeological dig. There’s very little that I can take at face value. In working with others, I have to verify information and use discernment based on the facts constantly. In preaching and teaching, I have to weigh subject and feeling against the truth of God’s Word. And personally, I have to dig reallllyyyy deep and find the root cause of thoughts, feelings, emotions, and reactions.

I haven’t slept well for a couple of weeks now. At first I thought it was stress. Nope. Then I thought it was overextending myself. Nope. Last night I earnestly prayed laying down in bed asking for God to give me the rest I so desperately desire. (and yes, posted it a little tongue-in-cheek too on Facebook) Did I rest well? Nope. Finally, this morning, as I woke up cranky and tired (and coffee-less since I had to get fasting bloodwork), I realized it. Unfortunately, knowledge isn’t going to improve my case, but at least I know that “this too shall pass…”

Moral of the story, we dig for truth. You’ll be all the more better for it. It’s worth taking the time to find what is right and true. Trust me. Taking things at face value is a disservice…except for this: